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- Impeachment trial: defense lawyers argue Trump is victim of 'cancel culture'
- Myanmar protests: anger grows over night-time arrests of junta critics
- Coronavirus live news: Oxford vaccine to be tested on children from six years old; WHO cautions against relaxing restrictions
- Hong Kong: alarm over proposed law that could ban anyone from leaving
- Walmart selling beef from firm linked to Amazon deforestation
- Australian officials hunt crocodile after human remains found near missing fisherman's boat
- Mars, Nestlé and Hershey to face child slavery lawsuit in US
- British-Iranian anthropologist who fled Iran accused of sexual abuse
- White House suspends press aide who reportedly threatened Politico journalist
- British barrister Karim Khan elected ICC's new chief prosecutor
- Police stop plane on Heathrow tarmac to arrest child abduction suspect
- Victoria's coronavirus lockdown sabotages terminally ill Australian man's year-long fight to get home
- 'A very dangerous epoch': historians try to make sense of Covid
- Fewer than a third of UK doctors feel protected from Covid at work – poll
- Mundill Mahil was a straight-A student with a bright future. Then she was charged with murder
- From lime gravadlax to pulled lamb: Yotam Ottolenghi’s slow-cooked recipes
- Bill Gates on the climate crisis: ‘I can't deny being a rich guy with an opinion’
- Fatima Bhutto: ‘Who would play me in the film of my life? Al Pacino, circa The Godfather I and II’
- Blind date: ‘The end of the evening is a little hazy’
- 'In Russia, the new evil is rooted in the old evil': novelist Sergei Lebedev on Putin, poison and state terror
- London's status as a financial centre isn't as secure as some might think | Dan Davies
- The Good American review: Bob Gersony and a better foreign policy
- Sounds about right: why podcasting works for Pence, Bannon and Giuliani
- Victorian Covid quarantine chief rejects claim nebuliser at centre of outbreak declared to staff
- Pakistan ends death penalty for prisoners with severe mental health problems
- Record-breaking snowfalls blanket Moscow – video
- Why Myanmar protesters see Aung San Suu Kyi as their greatest hope – video explainer
- Lunar new year celebrations around the world – in pictures
- Myanmar police confront protesters and fire rubber bullets – video
- Trump impeachment trial day three: Democrats rest their case – video highlights
| Impeachment trial: defense lawyers argue Trump is victim of 'cancel culture' Posted: 12 Feb 2021 08:30 PM PST Lawyers claim Trump's 'fight like hell' rhetoric on 6 January was no different than the language politicians frequently use Impeachment lawyers for Donald Trump accused the prosecution of waging a "politically motivated witch-hunt" against the former president, vehemently denying the charge that his words and actions incited the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol as they concluded their sharply partisan defense and prepared for a swift conclusion to the trial. Confident that Trump's unprecedented second impeachment trial would again result in acquittal, the defense lawyers channeled the former president's bombastic style – and his loose relationship with the facts – to denounce the case against him as an "unconstitutional act of political vengeance" fueled by Democrats' longstanding "hatred" of their client. They claimed the House managers had grievously mischaracterized Trump's remarks to his followers at a rally on 6 January, when he exhorted them to "fight like hell" during a rally just before they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and attacked the US Capitol. Continue reading... |
| Myanmar protests: anger grows over night-time arrests of junta critics Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:59 PM PST Demonstrators called on the military to 'stop kidnapping at night' as the military continues to detain officials and activists Opponents of Myanmar's military coup have sustained mass protests for an eighth straight day as continuing arrests of junta critics added to anger over the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands assembled in the business hub, Yangon, on Saturday while protesters took to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw, the second city Mandalay and other towns a day after the biggest protests so far in the south-east Asian country. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:42 AM PST Coronavirus R number falls below 1 in UK; Cuomo faces calls to resign amid allegations of hiding nursing home deaths; High-risk groups missed off UK's vaccine priority list. Follow the latest updates live
Experts in child development are calling on the government to support a "summer of play" to help pupils in England recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval, writes Sally Weale, the Guardian's education correspondent. Instead of extra lessons, catch-up summer schools and longer school days, they said children should be encouraged to spend the coming months outdoors, being physically active and having fun with their friends. Psychologists have reported behavioural changes in some children following the first lockdown last year. After months of isolation from friends, some struggled to share and play together, teachers reported more fights and fallings-out, and Ofsted observed a worrying drop in physical fitness. Related: Call for 'summer of play' to help English pupils recover from Covid stress
Covid-19 has apparently claimed the lives of two 11-week-old white tiger cubs who died in a zoo in Pakistan last month. The cubs died in the Lahore Zoo on 30 January, four days after beginning treatment for what officials thought was feline panleukopenia virus, Reuters reports. It is a disease that zoo officials said is common in Pakistan and targets cats' immune systems. After their death, the zoo administration conducted tests of all officials, and six were tested positive, including one official who handled the cubs. It strengthens the findings of the autopsy. The cubs probably caught the virus from the person handling and feeding them. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong: alarm over proposed law that could ban anyone from leaving Posted: 12 Feb 2021 09:13 PM PST Barristers say proposal would give head of immigration 'unfettered power' to stop people leaving the city without any court process The influential Hong Kong Bar Association has spoken out against a government proposal that could give "apparently unfettered power" to the immigration director to stop anyone leaving the city. The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) expressed alarm on Friday in a paper submitted to the city's legislative council about the proposed law, which could bar any individual – whether resident or not – from boarding a carrier out of the financial hub. Continue reading... |
| Walmart selling beef from firm linked to Amazon deforestation Posted: 12 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST Exclusive: US chains Walmart, Costco and Kroger selling Brazilian beef produced by JBS linked to destruction of Brazilian rainforest Three of the biggest US grocery chains sell Brazilian beef produced by a controversial meat company linked to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, an investigation has revealed. Food giants Walmart, Costco and Kroger – which together totalled net sales worth more than half a trillion dollars last year – are selling Brazilian beef products imported from JBS, the world's largest meat company, which has been linked to deforestation. Continue reading... |
| Australian officials hunt crocodile after human remains found near missing fisherman's boat Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:29 PM PST Department of Environment and Science says damage to boat indicates crocodile's involvement 'highly likely' A four-metre crocodile believed to be behind a fatal attack on a missing fisherman in north Queensland has been captured and killed, after human remains were found. Related: King croc of Port Douglas dies after crab pot encounter Continue reading... |
| Mars, Nestlé and Hershey to face child slavery lawsuit in US Posted: 12 Feb 2021 02:31 PM PST Chocolate companies are among the defendants named in a lawsuit brought by former child workers in Ivory Coast Eight children who claim they were used as slave labour on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast have launched legal action against the world's biggest chocolate companies. They accuse the corporations of aiding and abetting the illegal enslavement of "thousands" of children on cocoa farms in their supply chains. Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Mars, Olam, Hershey and Mondelēz have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC by the human rights firm International Rights Advocates (IRA), on behalf of eight former child slaves who say they were forced to work without pay on cocoa plantations in the west African country. |
| British-Iranian anthropologist who fled Iran accused of sexual abuse Posted: 12 Feb 2021 04:41 AM PST Women say Kameel Ahmady, who recently told of his escape from Iran, harassed and sexually assaulted them A number of women have accused a prominent British-Iranian anthropologist who recently fled Iran of being a sexual predator who should not be allowed to continue working with women or with the vulnerable groups that are a focus of his research. Kameel Ahmady, known for work on child marriage, female genital mutilation and LGBT communities in Iran, denies the allegations of sexual assault and harassment, which have led to his suspension from Iran's Sociology Association. Continue reading... |
| White House suspends press aide who reportedly threatened Politico journalist Posted: 12 Feb 2021 06:06 PM PST TJ Ducklo is sorry for 'heated conversation', says White House press secretary, but punishment appears to fall short of Biden's threat to fire uncivil aides The White House has suspended a press aide over allegations he threatened a reporter who was working on a story about his romantic relationship with another journalist. Vanity Fair alleged on Friday that White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo had made threats – including saying "I will destroy you" – to a Politico correspondent who was reporting on Ducklo's recently disclosed relationship with an Axios reporter, Alexi McCammond. Continue reading... |
| British barrister Karim Khan elected ICC's new chief prosecutor Posted: 12 Feb 2021 03:38 PM PST Khan, 50, won on second round of voting by 131 member states and replaces Fatou Bensouda, who was hit with US sanctions A British QC has been elected as the new chief prosecutor for the international criminal court in an election by the court's 131 member states at the UN in New York. Karim Khan will replace Fatou Bensouda from the Gambia, and as he starts his nine-year term he faces a daunting task trying to secure more convictions and spread acceptance of the court's jurisdiction across the globe. The secret ballot for the post was the first in the court's history – and took place amid some controversy and high politics between member states. Continue reading... |
| Police stop plane on Heathrow tarmac to arrest child abduction suspect Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:25 AM PST Man arrested after taxiing plane was halted just before it was due to take off for Bucharest Police halted a taxiing plane just before it was due to take off from Heathrow to arrest a man on suspicion of child abduction. Nottinghamshire police said it received a report of a man taking a four-year-old without his mother's permission at 4.57pm on Thursday. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 12 Feb 2021 09:18 PM PST John Jobber's flight home, after being stuck in Ireland, will not be accepted due to lockdown restrictions
Terminally ill Australian man John Jobber is running out of time to make it back from Ireland and fulfil his wish of dying back home in Tasmania. After nearly a year of fighting to get Jobber home, his daughter Samantha John finally secured plane tickets to Melbourne for next week, but now she fears Melbourne's snap lockdown means he will never see home again. Continue reading... |
| 'A very dangerous epoch': historians try to make sense of Covid Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Experts say it is not just the pandemic that makes these feel like unusually significant times It was in the first few weeks of 2020, when early reports began filtering through of a mystery virus threatening to spread across the world, that Rob Perks decided to begin collecting. As lead curator for oral history at the British Library, Perks's team routinely gather testimony to be archived for future research. But a comment by a historian who advises the institution stopped him in his tracks. Continue reading... |
| Fewer than a third of UK doctors feel protected from Covid at work – poll Posted: 12 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST British Medical Association says figure of 28% – down from 41% last July – is a 'terrible indictment' Fewer than a third (28%) of UK doctors feel they are fully protected from coronavirus in their place of work, according to a survey. The findings of the poll by the British Medical Association (BMA) show a decline since July when 41% of doctors said they felt protected. Continue reading... |
| Mundill Mahil was a straight-A student with a bright future. Then she was charged with murder Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:00 AM PST The tabloids dubbed her the 'honeytrap' girl when she was tried for the murder of Gagandip Singh in 2012, alongside two others. Was the truth more complicated? Mundill Mahil knows it sounds cheesy, but as a girl she wanted to save the world. She was a model student. At Rochester grammar school, she got 10 A*sat GCSE, three As at A-level, mentored an autistic child and worked in a hospice, before winning a place at Brighton and Sussex Medical School; she hoped to do aid work for Médecins Sans Frontières when she qualified. Then everything went wrong; at 19, she was charged with murder. There are no winners in this story. One young man died; one was convicted of murder, another of manslaughter. On 25 February 2011, 21-year-old Gagandip Singh was brutally beaten by two men in Mahil's Brighton bedroom, before being burned to death in the boot of a Mercedes. A year later, an Old Bailey jury acquitted Mahil of murder, but found her guilty of GBH with intent, for having lured Singh to his death. She was given a six-year sentence. Her motive, prosecutors argued, was revenge; she had told friends Singh had assaulted her six months earlier. Continue reading... |
| From lime gravadlax to pulled lamb: Yotam Ottolenghi’s slow-cooked recipes Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:30 AM PST Dishes that take a long time but don't require much of yours: lime-leaf-cured 'gravadlax', pulled lamb with orange and spices, and saffron and cardamom brioche cake Time is doing two things at the moment, I find. On the one hand, we have much more of it: the time saved by not commuting, say, and by not going out; in fact, not doing anything at all, really. On the other hand, I often get to the end of a day at home and wonder where it's gone. Beyond going through the motions of family life – cook, eat, teach, star jumps. Cook, eat, teach, star jumps. On repeat – I'm almost impressed by how little else I achieve. The way to deal with this contradiction, in the kitchen at least, is to embrace slow-cooking: things that take a long time to cook, but don't require much of yours to do so. Continue reading... |
| Bill Gates on the climate crisis: ‘I can't deny being a rich guy with an opinion’ Posted: 13 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST In an exclusive extract from his new book, the Microsoft founder explains why we need to cut carbon emissions to zero – even if he is an 'imperfect messenger' There are two numbers you need to know about climate change. The first is 51bn. The other is zero. Fifty-one billion is how many tons of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere every year. Zero is what we need to aim for. To stop the warming and avoid the worst effects of climate change, humans need to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The climate is like a bathtub that's slowly filling up with water. Even if we slow the flow of water to a trickle, the tub will eventually overflow. Setting a goal to reduce our emissions won't do it. The only sensible goal is zero. Continue reading... |
| Fatima Bhutto: ‘Who would play me in the film of my life? Al Pacino, circa The Godfather I and II’ Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:30 AM PST The author on puppies, never throwing food away and how many shoes is too many Born in Kabul, Fatima Bhutto, 38, studied at Columbia University, New York, and at Soas in London. Her books include Songs Of Blood And Sword, an account of her family and Pakistani politics, and the novels The Shadow Of The Crescent Moon and The Runaways. She lives in Karachi, Pakistan. When were you happiest? |
| Blind date: ‘The end of the evening is a little hazy’ Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Steph, 27, clinical account manager, and Will, 28, actor/singer What were you hoping for? |
| Posted: 13 Feb 2021 12:30 AM PST The author's new thriller revolves around a deadly neurotoxin. He talks about its parallels with the poisoning of Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny - and why today's protests in his homeland give him hope The Russian novelist Sergei Lebedev is currently based in Berlin. But it is the popular uprising in Moscow that hangs darkly over our conversation. Hours before we speak, protesters calling for the release of the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny take to the streets in towns and cities right across Russia. The Kremlin's response is a familiar one: thuggish violence. The TV images make a Mordor-like tableau. Faceless riot police clash their shields together in a rhythmic display of power; demonstrators raise their arms in a plucky counter-clap. There are arrests, many thousands of them. Young men are savagely beaten and dragged through grey slush into waiting police vans. One sets himself alight in an apparent act of rebellion. Continue reading... |
| London's status as a financial centre isn't as secure as some might think | Dan Davies Posted: 13 Feb 2021 01:00 AM PST The epicentre of Europe's share trading has shifted to Amsterdam – this is a problem for London that is only going to grow The past year of all our lives has been defined by people failing to understand exponential processes. It's slightly worrying, then, to hear financial professionals in London saying the amount of business that's shifted to European financial centres since Brexit is not that big. Nearly everything is small to begin with. The trouble is that things grow. In itself, as William Wright from the New Financial thinktank says, the fact that Amsterdam has overtaken London in terms of equity trading volume is unlikely to make much difference to anyone's profit and loss account (or a country's tax-take). Measuring trading volume is in any case something of an abstract concept, which these days depends more on the way in which computer algorithms split up orders to get the best price, than the actual amount of business. The commission on equity trading is incredibly low and the exchange fees even lower. Continue reading... |
| The Good American review: Bob Gersony and a better foreign policy Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Robert D Kaplan's outstanding book makes a strong case for US engagement based on human rights and helping refugees What adjective should describe "the American" active in foreign policy? Graham Greene chose "quiet", as his character harmed a country he did not understand. Eugene Burdick and William Lederer used "ugly". Robert D Kaplan, one of America's most thoughtful chroniclers of foreign affairs, proposes "good" to describe Bob Gersony, who in "a frugal monastic existence that has been both obscure and extraordinary" has devoted his life to using the power and treasure of the US to serve others through humanitarian action. Continue reading... |
| Sounds about right: why podcasting works for Pence, Bannon and Giuliani Posted: 13 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST The Trump associates have opted for a medium that offers big opportunities with less risk of being de-platformed What do Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Cohen, Mike Pence and Anthony Scaramucci all have in common? They worked for Donald Trump, obviously, and several have been implicated in alleged crimes connected to the former president, but as of this month, each of these one-time high-profile Trump acolytes also has his own podcast. Continue reading... |
| Victorian Covid quarantine chief rejects claim nebuliser at centre of outbreak declared to staff Posted: 12 Feb 2021 11:05 PM PST Emma Cassar says there is 'no evidence' man at Holiday Inn raised nebuliser with health team
The head of Victoria's hotel quarantine system has rejected a claim from a man at the centre of the Holiday Inn outbreak that he declared and was given permission to use a nebuliser at two separate hotel quarantine facilities. The comments came as Victoria recorded one new locally acquired coronavirus case on Saturday. Continue reading... |
| Pakistan ends death penalty for prisoners with severe mental health problems Posted: 12 Feb 2021 03:28 AM PST Supreme court ruling welcomed by rights activists who say it opens the way to broader prison reforms In a landmark decision, Pakistan's supreme court ruled this week that prisoners with serious mental health problems cannot be executed for their crimes. The verdict was hailed by rights activists, who said it laid the groundwork for broader prison reforms in the country. Continue reading... |
| Record-breaking snowfalls blanket Moscow – video Posted: 12 Feb 2021 02:10 PM PST A heavy blanket of snow covered the Russian capital, and record-breaking snowfalls descended on the central part of Russia on Friday. More snow is expected over the weekend, with temperatures hitting -15C Continue reading... |
| Why Myanmar protesters see Aung San Suu Kyi as their greatest hope – video explainer Posted: 12 Feb 2021 10:57 AM PST Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting across Myanmar since the army overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detained most senior leaders on 1 February. Aung San Suu Kyi's rise to power prompted hope she could end years of ethnic strife in Myanmar, but she has been accused of standing by while genocide was committed against the Rohingya people. The Guardian's south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, explains why – despite her fall from grace internationally – Aung San Suu Kyi is seen by so many protesters as the only person who can still save them from military rule
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| Lunar new year celebrations around the world – in pictures Posted: 12 Feb 2021 07:29 AM PST Some of the best photographs as people welcome the arrival of the year of the ox Continue reading... |
| Myanmar police confront protesters and fire rubber bullets – video Posted: 12 Feb 2021 06:50 AM PST Police in Myanmar have clashed with protesters and fired rubber bullets at crowds in the south-eastern city of Mawlamyine on the largest day of demonstrations so far against the military coup. The use of force left at least three people wounded and came hours before the UN human rights council was due to hold a special session to discuss the crisis |
| Trump impeachment trial day three: Democrats rest their case – video highlights Posted: 12 Feb 2021 03:30 AM PST House impeachment managers concluded their case against Donald Trump on Thursday by saying that the deadly Capitol assault he stands accused of inciting was the culmination of a presidency beset by lies and violent rhetoric. They also said he would remain a threat to US democracy if not convicted and barred from holding future office Continue reading... |
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